When deciding on weight loss surgery as the remedy for medical and physical issues, you can be faced with a variety of choices to make including which form of surgery you’ll opt for. Most surgeons working under an insurance network will offer you one of the three options: gastric bypass, duodenal or a gastric sleeve surgery.
While the former two have been used in the weight loss field for decades and are generally proven and reliable; gastric sleeve, a newer technique that has only been accepted as a mainstream treatment in the last 7 years has exploded in popularity, becoming the most commonly requested treatment amongst patients. It offers a few benefits over the older treatments which we can examine a little more closely.
What makes it different?
Gastric sleeve is a treatment that involves the removal of up to 85 percent of the stomach, leaving behind a cylindrical pouch that’s about the same size and shape as a banana. This is an irreversible solution to the weight loss dilemma.
It works by restricting the capacity of your stomach, and thus greatly reducing the amount of calories patients can consume. The part of the stomach removed is also responsible for the production of a hunger inducing hormone called “ghrelin”. By inhibiting the amount of hunger a patient feels, the need for calories is also lessened.
Faster and Less Invasive
Gastric bypass and duodenal switch are generally intensive procedures that can take anywhere from 2-4 hours to complete, usually involving a lengthy routine of stapling and rearrangement of the intestines. On the other hand gastric sleeve weight loss surgery involves only a few small incisions made in the skin from where the stomach is removed, and it can usually be completed in an hour.
Gastric bypass and duodenal switch are malabsorptive weight loss surgeries — they reduce the amount of nutrients your body can absorb by rerouting your small intestine. Adjusting to the reduction in vital vitamins and minerals can mean patients will have to take supplements throughout the remainder of their lives in order to avoid health consequences.
Dumping
Another potential complication of malabsorptive weight loss techniques is the phenomenon known as dumping or rapid gastric emptying. This is caused by the removal of your body’s pylorus, a vital element in regulating the rate at which food enters your small intestine. Without it, food and stomach acid can be dumped into your small intestine prematurely.
Dumping can either occur 15 to 30 minutes after a meal or a couple of hours after. The symptoms usually include nausea, cramps, dizziness, vomiting, heart palpitations and diarrhea. This side effect shows up in about 80% of gastric bypass recipients, and in order to manage the worst effects patients will usually have to eat food slowly in small bites and avoid food high in sugar or carbohydrates.
The verdict
Gastric sleeve provides many of the same benefits as its alternatives, including the long-term weight loss that results in an average 60% of body weight lost, and the reversal of type 2 diabetes. At the same time it’s usually cheaper, safer and requires far less recovery and upkeep than other options. With all this in mind, it’s no wonder that this new technique is leading the way for the future of weight loss surgeries across the world.
Learn More About Gastric Sleeve Surgery
For more information about gastric sleeve surgery and how it can benefit you, be sure to contact our team of weight loss surgery experts today. The team here at Certified Bariatric Surgeons looks forward to you visit and helping you achieve a healthier life.
